I want to run a sci-fi campaign for the channel, and the modern hobby is spoiled for good engines to run it on. So rather than just pick one, I laid out four contenders and put it to a vote. Each of these could carry a long-running campaign; they just get there in completely different ways.
The four contenders
- Traveller — the 1977 granddaddy of sci-fi RPGs. Grounded, career-driven, and built for exactly the kind of hard-edged spacefaring sandbox I keep coming back to.
- Hostile (Zozer Games) — a blue-collar, “used future” setting in the Alien mold, running on a Cepheus/Traveller-compatible chassis. Grim, atmospheric, and perfect for survival-horror in the dark between stars.
- Stars Without Number (Sine Nomine) — an OSR sci-fi toolkit loaded with sandbox generators. Half rulebook, half sector-building machine, and famously friendly to solo and referee-less play.
- Ironsworn: Starforged — a PbtA-descended engine designed from the ground up for solo and co-op play, where the oracles and moves do the heavy narrative lifting.
The honest truth is I’d be happy running any of them — but they’d produce very different shows. Traveller and Hostile lean into simulation and consequence; Starforged leans into emergent story; Stars Without Number sits comfortably between. Watch the rundown, then tell me where to point the ship.
The winning engine becomes a full solo campaign on the channel. Subscribe so you don’t miss session one.